About Us

Bonz and Stonz Carving Studio was founded by Steve Gwaliasi in 2000.

Steven was introduced to jade carving while working on a gold claim in 1988. Orginally from the Solomon Islands, Steven worked on a digger and would often uncover pounamu boulders in the course of his work.
He completed a jade carving course and abandoned mining for a career as a jade carver.

Steve’s own work reflects his strong cultural heritage in transition with a merging with the heritage of his ‘new’ home. 

He is a teacher at heart and is keen to share the carving experience with others. In line with this he has run carving courses at Tai Poutini Polytechnic, run carving courses for the NZ Correspondence School and invited local school students into his studio.

Most of the time he is running workshops for tourists to have a hands-on opportunity to carve and relate to the inert spirit of the stone, however he also been travelling internationally to facilitate jade workshops in USA, Australia and Solomons Islands. He is always looking to expand his network and start new adventures.